Monument Designations Move 30x30 Needle

This week the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC) condemned the Biden Administration’s “irresponsible use of the Antiquities Act” to create the Chuckwalla and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monuments.

“President Biden’s unilateral action to create new monuments this late in his term shows that these monuments are politically motivated and devoid of resource planning for the future,” said NCBA Executive Director of Natural Resources and PLC Executive Director Kaitlynn Glover. “The record is clear: monument designations at the eleventh hour jeopardize rangeland health, threaten local economic stability, and unnecessarily make these areas political pawns during a transition period. NCBA and PLC strongly oppose this declaration and will work with the Trump administration to limit abuse and bring common sense back to this process.”

Meahwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom celebrated the news, recognizing in a press release that the new national monuments add more than half a million acres to California’s historic 30×30 initiative – the state’s goal to conserve 30% of lands and coastal waters by 2030.